The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1887-10-22
.ris OF tao arrival Of good sub.


the English, Russians, Poles, and
Gcrmans-aro cold, mcthodical, auda-
cious. and persistent They rarely
abandon the victim they have de'eIm-
ined 10 despo.l the German Is an ex-
cellcnt hreur FctLr0uGc, a very old
kind Of robbery, consisting in violently
running again-t q person and prOfting
from his confusion by picking his pock-
cts He seldom frequent, the races or
crowded stores, bat may be seen at the
banks, where hc watches persons that
draw money and sees into which
pocket they put H. The Germans also
excel in the rJi0u ruin, which consists
in proGting from the nomsntary mat
tcntiOn Of cashier tO make of with his
money.
"The Italian pickpockct knows his
extreme clcycruc--. He is conscious Of
his superiority, and he laughs at every
European police force. He boldly re-
pcats his robbrrir- a. the same locality.
although aware hat complaints have
awakened the attention Of the police.
Full Of confidence In his art. and enjoy
ing his triumph., hc rads. however, by
falling into their hands If he had the
prudence Of the English pickpockct he
could defy all detectives OF the uni
verse. He is Tia artist Of pickpockcts.
but. yielding 10 hi- southern ardor, he
is caught by hi, obstinate presence in
the same crowd. Ilc never abaudOns a
favorte place until hc has stolen all
that he can possibly steal. I'm an inter
national reunion Of pickpockcts he
would be- unanimously chosen prcsi-
dent. when he ha3 thrown his eye on
a pocket, his address dciic. all compc-
ton. BY movement 50 natural that
i, escapes notice ho feels of pocket,
weighs purse, and appropriatc5 it
With the greatest dcNlcrity. When en-
garcd at his work hc often purposcly
cxcitcs the attention of his victim by
slight and apparently accidental touch,
which permits him 10 present his cY-
cuscs in most WGable and gracious
manner. In point Of dcNtcrity the
Spaniard is his rival He operates un-
o,tcutatiou,ly. with ,upplcncss and
lighlu IS of hand, bat his movements are
not stamped with that charming grace
the secret Of which the Italian alone
possesses.
"'lhc pickpockct never wears a glove
on his right hand. and To conceal his
movements he frequently carries
light ovcrcoat on his left arm. In
winter IN oycrcoat on the arm would
excite suspicion, and hence hc carrie,
then a large handkerchief, which he
prctcnds to unfold to put around his
neck. At churches. balls cafes. thea
tcrs, the hat takes the place of the
ovcrcoat and hanlkcrchicf. In the
slang Of these mulcfactors, ho who
takes the purse is called the mum
(hand). The aids are called HoHiieS.
They are the pupils the accomplices.
They must place themselves between ic
naiH and the crowd for the further Sc
curty of the former II il their buSi-
ness To look ont for the detectives and
To dispose of the victim in the way most
convenient for ic whether by
clbowng and iosting him more or less
vigorously or 10y attracting his atten-
tion from the operator. The latter, in
order TO conceal his right hand, raises
his left arm, on which rests his over
coat, so that the ovorCOat covers the
pocket that he intends 10 explore.
What precautions. what dclicacy and
lightncss of touch he must employ. To-
come off successfully! Two fingers
only are introduced into the pocket.
Lightly they raise the pockct-book.
which for an instant is held suspended
So that its owner shall not feel the
sudden tightening of his pocket. At
this moment the R0HHc. who is behind,
pushes the victim slightly, when the
latter, turning about, ceases Ia see and
To feel what is going ON. II the sum
to he stolen is large, the ;fckpockct
often manouvors u long time with his
victim. lie quits him, finds him again,
and never abaudons him until he has
got his money, unless. his cagcrncss
overcoming his ordinary prudence, he
is detected. In this ease the RoHRcS
come to his aid and cudcavor To get
him of before the arrival of the
police, i'm which effort they usually
succeed. An experienced detective
il not satisfied with arrcsting the
main; he wants the accnmpliccS This
i why the MAN passes the stolen
articles To- the first RoHnc, who passes
them 10 the sccoyd, and So on to the
last Of the band. This action is doublv
advantageous To the main Surprised
b, his victim. he has nothing on him.
and that permits him to protest his in
nuccncc with vehement Indignation. Ii
the main is arrested 10y an incNpcri-
cnccd agent uI police, his protcStations
are usually successful, for nothing
compromising is found on his person,
and the agcut i afraid of making
mistake
GLOW mary rullncrics of this kind
are committed in Paris daily?"
-Four or five hundred. At least two
thirds of them 90 unpunjShcd. There
are pickpockctS everywhere. Acouplc
of weeks ago, at the Wedding of the
niece of the Minister of the Interior. n
rascal in full dress and with the appear
ancc of gentleman picked dozen
pockets. BY the barcst accident he
WAS arrested. Two detectives that hap
pened to be passing saw him throw
SpmpthiuW into a COLLAR window 4